He stopped; the brave smile had faded from his face. “By Jove!--that's something I didn't think of!--What will I do with the dear old woman--It would break her heart--and Todd?” Here was indeed something on which he had not counted! For him to forego the luxuries that enriched his daily life was easy--he had often in his hunting trips lived for weeks on sweet potato and a handful of cornmeal, and slept on the bare ground with only a blanket over him, but that his servants should be reduced to similar privations suggested possibilities which appalled him. For the first time since the cruel announcement fell from Rutter's lips the real situation, with all that it meant to his own future and those dependent upon him, stared him in the face. He looked up and caught Harry's anxious eyes scanning his own. His old-time, unruffled spirit came to his assistance. “No, son!” he cried in his cheeriest voice, springing to his feet--“no, we won't worry. It will all come out right--we'll buckle down to it together, you and I. Don't take it too much to heart--we'll get on somehow.” But the boy was not reassured; in fact, he had become more anxious than ever. Not only did the chill continue, but the lump in his throat grew larger every minute. “But, Uncle George--you told me you borrowed the money to pay those bills my father sent me. And will you now have to pay that back as well?” He did not ask of whom he had borrowed it, nor on what security, nor would either Pawson or his uncle have told him, that being a confidential matter. “Well, that depends, Harry; but we won't have to pay it right away, which is one comfort. And then again, I can go back to the law. I have yet to make my maiden speech before a jury, but I can do it. Think of it!--everybody in tears, the judge mopping his eyes--court-room breathless. Oh, you just wait until your old uncle gets on his feet before a bench and jury. Come along, old fellow--let us go up into the house.” Then in a serious tone--his back to Harry--“Pawson, please bring the full accounts with you in the morning, and now let me thank you for your courtesy. You have been extremely civil, sir, and I appreciate it most highly.” When they had reached the front walk and were about to climb the immaculate steps, St. George, still determined to divert the boy's thoughts from his own financial straits, said with a laugh: “Todd told you, of course, about your father paying me a visit this morning, did he not?” “Oh, yes!--a most extraordinary account. You must have enjoyed it,” replied Harry, trying to fall into his uncle's mood, his heart growing heavier every moment. “What did he want?” One of St. George's heat-lightning smiles played over his face: “He wanted two things. He first wanted you, and then he wanted a receipt for a month's board--YOUR board, remember! He went away without either.” A new perspective suddenly opened up in Harry's mind; one that had a gleam of sunshine athwart it.